After protest of the club

Reduced bans for two Rapid professionals

(Bild: GEPA, youtube)

The Bundesliga has partially changed the suspensions of SK Rapid. As a result, the suspensions for Niklas Hedl and Marco Grüll have been reduced.

Rapid can fall back on Niklas Hedl for the showdown for the top 6 at Austria Klagenfurt on Sunday. On Friday, the league protest committee changed the goalkeeper's suspension from one game unconditional and two games conditional to three games conditional. In addition, the sanction for Marco Grüll was changed from three matches conditional and three matches unconditional to two matches unconditional and three matches conditional.

The suspensions for Guido Burgstaller (six matches, three of them unconditional), Thorsten Schick (five matches, two of them unconditional) and Maximilian Hofmann (three matches, one of them unconditional) remained in place.

"Advantage" for Rapid
Rapids managing director of sport Markus Katzer and coach Robert Klauß expressed their satisfaction in an initial reaction. "You take it the same way as the original penalties. Of course it's an advantage that Hedl can play," said Katzer, and Klauß added: "I'm pleased that Niki can play. But the way we approach the game won't change anyway."

Robert Klauß(Bild: APA/EVA MANHART)

Statement of the protest committee
On Friday afternoon, the protest committee provided the justification for the partially reduced suspensions. "When reducing Marco Grüll's suspension, the special role and exemplary function of the latter as captain should be mentioned in comparison to Guido Burgstaller. This has also resulted in a certain gradation between these two players in terms of the suspension," a league statement said.

In the case of 22-year-old Hedl, his age, among other things, was a mitigating factor. "In addition, he was more on the sidelines and was the least actively involved of all the players," the Bundesliga wrote.

Battle for top 6
Rapid probably need a point in Klagenfurt to move into the Bundesliga championship group. Hedl's availability means that at least one of the Hütteldorfer's personnel problems is no longer an issue - their regular two-goalkeeper Paul Gartler has only completed three team training sessions after a lengthy injury lay-off. It is possible that the third goalkeeper, Bernhard Unger, would have had to start at Wörthersee.